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In 1877, Standing Bear's Ponca Indian tribe was forcibly removed from its lands in Nebraska and marched south to Indian Territory. "I Am a Man" tells the story of Standing Bear's efforts to reclaim his lands and rights, ending in his successful use of habeas corpus to gain access to the courts and ultimately his freedoms. This is a story of survival, of a people who arose from the ashes of injustice, disease, neglect, alcoholism, and starvation. It explores fundamental issues of citizenship, constitutional protection, and the nature of democracy-issues that continue to resonate loudly in 21st century America. Starita's well researched and insightful account reads like historical fiction- his careful characterizations and vivid descriptions bring this piece of American history brilliantly to life.

Joe Starita was an investigative reporter and New York bureau chief for The Miami Herald, where one of his stories was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He is now a professor at the University of Nebraska’s College of Journalism and the author of The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge, an account of four generations of a Lakota Sioux family, that garnered a second Pulitzer Prize nomination, won the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Association Award, and has been published in six foreign languages.